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Did social media steal Christmas? We did something special on The BIGG Success Show today to answer that question. It’s a twist on an old familiar fable. We hope you enjoy! Click the player below to listen. Here’s the transcription…

[haiku url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00841-122012.mp3″ title=”The BIGG Success Show #841″]He arrived toward the end of the winter. It was cold. The land seemed barren. And he was struck by this white substance that fell from the sky to create a blanket on the land.

Winter soon gave way to spring and the protégé basked in the warmth of the sun. He was struck by how the ground turned from brown to green. And suddenly, all the plants seemed to be encompassed by this strange green foliage.

As was his mission, he continued watching the humans, as he had come to learn they were called. He dictated detailed notes each day back to his home planet.

Spring gave way to summer and the heat. Oh, he almost couldn’t bare it.

And then fall came. He was awestruck at the changing colors and the leaves falling from the trees.

Then came winter. The white stuff fell. It was cold.

But soon, he felt the warmth of the humans’ hearts. It was the most wonderful time of the year, he heard them say.

And they were right – there was something special about this season.

His stay ended about a month later. He was beamed back to his home planet.

The alien elder asked, “What did you learn, my protégé?”

“I learned that these humans are strange creatures indeed. They really behave differently one time a year. They are friendlier. They are more compassionate. It’s how we always treat each other.”

“Why do you think that we are able to carry this spirit through the whole year and they are not?”

“Are we smarter?” the protégé asked.

“No, they are just as smart as we are.”

“Do we have bigger hearts?”

“No, we both have the same capacity to care.”

“Then I do not know, wise elder.”

“Our planet only has two rules. You know them. What is the first?”

“Love the Supreme Being with all your heart.”

“You are correct, young lad. This is important because it helps us realize there is something or someone greater than ourselves. We are reminded of our place in the universe. And the second rule?”

“Love everyone, including yourself.”

“Right again. Before you can truly love anyone, you must love yourself. The greater your capacity to love yourself, the greater your capacity to love others.

“It seems so simple. Shouldn’t there be more rules?”

“Ah, it is simple but it is not easy. You see, the earthlings are governed by the same two rules. But they like to make it complicated.”

On the second day of Christmas,
Santa sent to me,Two new clients,
And a BIGG increase in my fee.

On the third day of Christmas,
Santa sent to me,Three paid jobs,
Two new clients,
And a BIGG increase in my fee.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
Santa sent to me,Four prospect calls,
Three paid jobs,
Two new clients,
And a BIGG increase in my fee.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
Santa sent to me,Five golden pings,
Four prospect calls,
Three paid jobs,
Two new clients,
And a BIGG increase in my fee.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
Santa sent to me,Six tweets relaying,
Five golden pings,
Four prospect calls,
Three paid jobs,
Two new clients,
And a BIGG increase in my fee.

On the seventh day of Christmas,
Santa sent to me,Seven keys to winning,
Six tweets relaying,
Five golden pings,
Four prospect calls,
Three paid jobs,
Two new clients,
And a BIGG increase in my fee.

On the eighth day of Christmas,
Santa sent to me,Eight hours sleeping,
Seven keys to winning,
Six tweets relaying,
Five golden pings,
Four prospect calls,
Three paid jobs,
Two new clients,
And a BIGG increase in my fee.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
Santa sent to me,Nine prospects prancing,
Eight hours sleeping,
Seven keys to winning,
Six tweets relaying,
Five golden pings,
Four prospect calls,
Three paid jobs,
Two new clients,
And a BIGG increase in my fee.

On the tenth day of Christmas,
Santa sent to me,Ten new subscribers,
Nine prospects prancing,
Eight hours sleeping,
Seven keys to winning,
Six tweets relaying,
Five golden pings,
Four prospect calls,
Three paid jobs,
Two new clients,
And a BIGG increase in my fee.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
Santa sent to me,Eleven brand new contacts,
Ten new subscribers,
Nine prospects prancing,
Eight hours sleeping,
Seven keys to winning,
Six tweets relaying,
Five golden pings,
Four prospect calls,
Three paid jobs,
Two new clients,
And a BIGG increase in my fee.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
Santa sent to me,Twelve staff a-humming,
Eleven brand new contacts,
Ten new subscribers,
Nine prospects prancing,
Eight hours sleeping,
Seven keys to winning,
Six tweets relaying,
Five golden pings,
Four prospect calls,
Three paid jobs,
Two new clients,
And a BIGG increase in my fee.

The other night we saw an episode of According to Jim. Jim (played by Jim Belushi) was stressing because he had not had a good year – money was tight and it was Christmas time. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to buy his kids the gifts they wanted.

His wife, Cheryl (Courtney Thorne-Smith) pointed out to him that the kids had barely looked at the presents they got the year before. In fact, one was still in its original package – it had been unwrapped but never opened and played with!

Maybe that kid was just a collector at heart!

But this show made us think … sometimes we get caught up on getting something new and not reflecting on the gifts we already have. So today we want to unwrap some of our most special gifts.

If you want to listen to us open these gifts, just click the “play” button above. Otherwise, picture each package being opened …

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Why don’t you kick it off, Mary-Lynn?

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This one is a real, real special one. It’s the gift of my Dad. He had a bit of a health scare going into the holidays. He’s fine – clean bill of health. So thank you, God. I love my gift this year! Alright George, it’s your turn.

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My gift is memories of Mom and Dad. Mom’s been gone a couple of years now so it’s still somewhat fresh, I guess. I think about the things I learned from them, the things that helped make me who I am, for better or worse – I can blame them! I had a very special Mom and Dad and I’m very thankful for that. Now, you’re up Mary-Lynn.

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Oh, yes … we’ve had a cold winter here in Illinois. There have been nights when you just hear that wind outside howling and I am inside and toasty warm! So the gift of a nice warm house is something I’m very, very grateful for this year.

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We often don’t stop to think about the basics and how many people there are who don’t even have something as simple as that.

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Exactly. Alright, George, tear into the next one.

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One of the features of our car is remote unlock. Man, as we’ve been out shopping in the cold, it’s really nice to be able to find your car quickly because it winks at us. And of course, to be able to get right in once you’re to it.

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That’s a good one. Okay, I’ll open the next one. Ah, the gifts of our kitty cats – Fifi and Fraidy. We have original cat names, don’t we? Boy, they just give us gifts all year long … loving and purring.

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Yeah, and sometimes they leave us a little something on the floor!

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We don’t like those gifts at all!

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Okay, let’s open the next one. It’s for both of us, Mary-Lynn. Let’s see what it is … ah, it’s our families. You have a great family, Mary-Lynn. Love your dad and your sister.

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You have a great family, too. Your sisters are all so fun – listening to all of the siblings laughing together. It’s just so nice!

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Yes, and the in-laws aren’t so bad either. A cool group of nephews and now, one little niece. And Mary-Lynn, while we’re on family, I have to say that I’m also very thankful for you.

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Ah, that’s so sweet. I’m thankful for you too. You’re a special man!

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It brings up the point, though. I think sometimes those closest to us are the people we most take for granted. We often don’t show them the appreciation we should.

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Yeah, I forget about you all the time, George.

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I know you do!

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George, I’ve got to tell you … I think we scored this Christmas.

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I’m with you on that – but Mary-Lynn, I just noticed something … over there in the corner, it looks like there’s another bigg present for us.

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Alright, let’s open it up … ah yes, of course. This is something we’re really grateful for.

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We’re grateful for you! The fact that you spend time with us like you do – you share your insights, you listen to our show, you read our blog posts. However you spend time with us, we’re just so thankful.

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You are the reason that we get to do what we love to do! That is such an amazing gift and we thank you so much.

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So to you we say, whatever your chosen holiday at this time of year, we wish you and yours the very best. For us, it’s Christmas … so Merry Christmas!

Oh, I’m glad to hear that. Finding ways to stay jolly is an excellent thing to do in these times.

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Well, what is your message to people this year – who are going through tough times, who are finding it hard to stay jolly?

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That’s a difficult thing. There are financial problems; the entire world is suffering really. But if you keep in mind the simple things, the things that matter the most – your family and friends – that will help get you through.

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I can’t think of any better advice than that.

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Now Santa, we always hear about Rudolph’s red nose, but I notice that your nose is often red too.

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Oh yes … it’s frequently very cold outside.

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So that’s the reason?

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Of course, are you insinuating something?

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Santa, I would insinuate nothing with you! That wouldn’t be nice!

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Ho! Ho! Ho!

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Of course, if you need a little jolt on Christmas Eve, you can stop by the Bigg Success Studio. We’ll leave something special out for you!

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I will certainly make an effort to stop by there!

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Santa, thank you so much for joining us on The Bigg Success Show. We know how busy you are and how crazy things are this time of year. But boy, it makes us jolly just to be able to talk with you!